al-Qaryatain

By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT, April 3 – Syrian and allied forces, backed by Russian air strikes, drove Daesh militants out of the town of al-Qaryatain on Sunday, Syria’s military command said, after gradually encircling it over the past few days. Surrounded by hills, al-Qaryatain is 100 km (60 miles) west of the ancient city of

By Jack Stubbs and Lisa Barrington MOSCOW/BEIRUT, March 31 – President Bashar Al Assad said it would not be difficult to agree on a new Syrian government including opposition figures, but his opponents responded on Wednesday that no administration would be legitimate while he remained in office. Assad, bolstered by military victory in the desert city of Palmyra,

By Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW, March 30 – The Syrian army’s successes and its strong support from Russia will help accelerate a political settlement to the country’s civil war, President Bashar Al Assad said, as the two allies maintained an offensive against Daesh militants. Assad was speaking in an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency published on Tuesday, two days